Thoughts on The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 10: Verse 34 - Verse 42)

Rahul: 0:02

Hello and welcome to The Bearded Mystic Podcast and I'm your host,Rahul N.Singh,thank you for joining today and taking your time to either watch or listen to this podcast episode.If you are really interested in supporting The Bearded Mystic Podcast,and you've found great benefit in listening or watching these episodes,then please do support this podcast on Patreon where you can get ad free and bonus episodes along with other benefits depending on the tier that you select.Your support means everything,and it really does help the podcast keep running efficiently and smoothly,and also widens the audience that this message can reach to.If you would like to know more about it,the details are in the show notes and video description below.On Saturdays at11:00AM Eastern Standard Time there is a free virtual meditation session along with discussion and Q&A.If you're interested in meditating with us as a community,then you can find out the details in the show notes and video description below.Please do like,comment,and subscribe if you're watching this on YouTube and if you're listening to this on your favorite podcast streaming app,then please do give this podcast a five star rating.It helps the podcast get up in the charts and allows the algorithm to bring this podcast to new listeners and also do review the podcast if you can and make sure you do follow or subscribe to keep getting future episodes.Today we will be continuing on with my thoughts on the Bhagavad Gita,and we will be looking at chapter10,verses34to42,which will then conclude chapter10itself.And this chapter where we've looked at Vibhuti Yoga,the powers behind the manifestation of this existence and that power being Sri Krishna itself.Verse34.I am all devouring death.I am Udbhava Bhavishyata‘the generating principle’,the cause of everything that is and is yet to be.Of all the excellent qualities of naris,'of females',I am:kirti honorable reputation.Shri the one who creates wellbeing.Vakh elegant speech.Smriti memory.Medha intelligence that makes life possible.Dhriti constancy,determination,faithfulness,dedication,fortitude and endurance and kshama patience.So there's a lot to capture in that verse.So first one,I am all devouring death.Death ends everything.Ultimately it's all devouring.It consumes everything.Even though this can be fearful to many,but that's what death is.It's devouring.It devours everything.What we see is full of life in one moment.The next minute we see it's lifeless.What was so vibrant one day loses all color,and that's what death does.Although we may see death as something bad,but what we can see is that it's the elimination of suffering,the elimination of limitation.Yeah.That's what death really is.So you can visualize how death overwhelms and overpowers and consumes everything.Death is all around us.If there's one.True understanding we have of life is that we cannot avoid death.I've seen young people die.I've seen cousins,a brother of mine have died at a young age.One cannot avoid this.Death devours everyone.You could be the highest,still death will come for you.Nothing escapes death at all.Nothing.There's been tales and instances where we may have heard how someone tries to cheat death,but death ultimately wins.Why?Because it belongs to time.Time is part of space.And wherever there is space there is existence.And remember in the previous episode,we looked at how this Brahman faces in all directions.Therefore,death can never be escaped.It's inescapable.We all one day would have to face our own demise.The question is,are we ready for death to happen to us?Are we ready to say,you know what,death.Come for me.Not actually that you wanna kill yourself,but to be alert enough to know that one moment I can go.So I'm going to live a life that is based on positive principles.And that's what Sri Krishna is saying.And what's beautiful here is if you see Sri Krishna as the all-devouring death,is there really death here?There's only death if we see,if we believe that we are an object,if we are an appearance,the manifestation.But if we see ourselves as Formless Awareness,then we understand that we are also,that all devouring death.But in this sense,although it's a scary thought,It's something of comfort too,to know that it's Sri Krishna that takes you,your Guru that takes you,no one else.Nothing else.Yeah.Then I am Udbhava Bhavishyata‘the generating principle’.The cause of everything that is and is yet to be.So it is the principle that generates this manifestation.So it's the cause of everything and that's what it simply is.So everything we see is generated from that principle and when it says generating principle,it's an interesting take that it takes away the duality of a creator and creation.You know,like in western philosophy,both of them are separate.In Eastern philosophy,it's one and the same.Everything we see,the cause of everything is generated,it's projected,and also it is the cause behind everything that is yet to be.So everything that is going to be existing is also that.It's that generating principle that allows that to be so,even though we cannot think of it,it will be manifested.See how vast that timeline is,that's the way to see it.Then he says,of all the excellent qualities of naris'females',I am kirti'honorable reputation'.Shri'the one who creates wellbeing'.Vak'elegant speech'.Smriti'memory'medha intelligence that makes life possible',dhriti'which is constancy,determination,faithfulness,dedication,fortitude,endurance'.And kshama'patience.'Feminine qualities are extremely important,and they are important because their reputation is always honorable.Yeah,they're very mindful and they concern themselves with how society dictates things and how one should remain within those boundaries as long as everything is fair and equal.Females always have a high reputation.Then it's the one that creates wellbeing because it's caring.It empathizes and it's soaked in humanity.It is also elegant speech.It speaks with sophistication,with sweetness,and every word is measured and impactful.It's memory,it's strong.Remembers everything,especially the teachings of the scriptures.It is the intelligence that makes life possible.Without the female,it's impossible to make life,and the most of all,it sustains the baby in the womb.So it's that true intelligence that ensures that everything in the body is able to sustain that new life form.And that's why it's that true intelligence that makes life possible.And it's the quality of being faithful towards others,being dependable.People can rely on them.They're always determined to do the right thing,even when a child is hungry.And even if the mother's asked five times,what do you like to eat?And if the child has been saying,no,no,no.The mother will still persist.And if the child automatically says,I'm hungry,the mother's ready to cook.She won't say,well,I'm not cooking for you now.You'll never see that.So they're always determined to do what's needed.They are always dedicated to what they love,and they have courage to deal with pain or adversity.Females have always been subjected to a lot of pain and suffering in the world.They've endured so much,they've tolerated so much.Childbirth itself is such a painful process,and they endure that.That's why Sri Krishna says,of the female qualities.One thing to note is anyone that disrespects a female is disrespecting Sri Krishna,disrespecting Visnu,disrespecting the highest principle of existence.Anyone that does that is not a true devotee,is not spiritual,is not a Gyani.They're the lowest of the low.That's what we need to understand from this.And most of all,they're patient.They have extreme patience.And this is beautiful in the world that wants quick results.So patience is what helps us to understand people and care for others.They know when it's the right time to speak.They know when it's the right time to act.They know when to give a hug to somebody.That's why females are so much better than men when it comes to being,being full of empathy.If you look at corporate culture today,It wants to have empathy.It wants to have compassion,but at the same time,it struggles because to do all those things,you have to be understanding of people.For example,right now,a lot of workplaces have forced their employees to go into the office.Now,a true female character will be like,you know what?How is this possible?How can we make the workplace much better?How can we make the experience much better for our employees?Is it remote work?Is it coming into the office?Is it having a balance of both and letting people decide?That's what females do,and that's what makes them much better.So these qualities that Sri Krishna's talked about is very important for us to have as well,and that he's all those qualities.So anyone that thinks that these qualities are weakness,well,you know what?Sri Krishna is all those qualities.Therefore it's not weakness,it's true strength,and that's why this is a very important verse.Then verse35.Among Vedic melodies,I am the brihatsama.Of poetic meters,I am gayatri chandas‘the gayatri meter'.Of masas'of months'I am margashirsha,I am the nakshatra,the bridging November and December.Of ritus seasons.I'm kusum kara'springtime with the flowers that bloom'.Among vedic melodies,I am brihatsama.Of poetic meters,I am gayatri chandas‘the gayatri meter’.The most important mantra that is chanted with music in the sama veda is brihatsama,and what we can say is any Japa is that,is an important mantra.But to understand that when we remember these,the true highest melody in existence,the anhadh shabd,that is Sri Krishna too.And it's also the gayatri mantra,which we know is the most important of the poetic mantras.From Buddhist to Hindus of all kinds,the gayatri is central.What we can understand here is if you recite the gayatri mantra,you're reciting Sri Krishna himself.Of months I am the nakshatra'bridging November and December.'Of Ritus'seasons'I'm kusum kara the'springtime when the flowers bloom'.The months thats bridging November and December.That is the months when we please our dead ancestors.Therefore,it's an important time as we honor our own history,and that's why Sri Krishna is saying that time when you honor your ancestors,I am that time too.And of the seasons.I'm springtime when the flowers bloom,so every season is obviously valued,but spring is an important season because the leaves are now buds and flowers are starting to bloom,and this represents the first stage or the beginning of nature,or the beginning of life.Verse36.Among cheaters,I'm gambling.Of extraordinary people.I am their tejas,their brilliance,and their charisma.I'm Jaya the moment of triumph.I am unbreakable determination.Of sattvavats,those who are dedicated to the truth,I am their purity.Very interesting verse.He says,among cheaters I'm gambling.Interesting line.And remember in the Mahabharata,we know Sakuni cheats in the game of gambling.So he says,even the worst people that you see,I'm them too.Yeah.You may say those that are gambling are bad.I'm the gambling itself and I'm the gambler.Yeah.So he's saying that's fine.They're all me.We are not to have any feeling of anger or a sense of higher morality,holier than thou attitude to anything that we think is lower than us.Yeah.And then of extraordinary people,I am their tejas,their brilliance and charisma.So when we come across a Einstein,when we come across a poet,when we come across a charismatic being a Guru,the tejas that's Sri Krishna,that's existence,that's Isvara,that's our Guru.So of all extraordinary people,the brilliance and charisma that we see is Sri Krishna,of all the gifted people.The way to see this is that a person of great charisma,you know,whenever they enter a room,the room just brightens up.It lights up completely,and their presence just brings a room to stillness and silence,and that is seen in extraordinary people.I still remember the feeling I get when my Guru enters the room.I still can feel it right now.The day becomes brighter.The night becomes brighter,the moon shines brighter,the sun shines brighter.Everyone's faces is gleaming with happiness and there's just,and the silence of the master just brings about this stillness in the mind.And that's what Sri Krishna's talking about that.So when we experience that,that's also existence.That's also the Shared Being.I am Jaya the moment of triumph,the moment you feel victory,that's the One.That's Sri Krishna.And I'm the unbreakable determination.That unbreakable determination to get to the highest,to get to Brahm Gyana,to understand this Ultimate Reality.To understand the one is in the many and the many is the one.It's that unbreakable determination to get that victory.Yeah,that is also Sri Krishna.And then of the Sattvavats,those who are dedicated to the truth,I'm their purity.Of all those individuals who are dedicated to the truth I am that sattvic in them,I'm the purity in them.I'm that pure element that seeking the truth.That's the way to see this.Verse37.In the Vrishni dynasty,I am Shri Krishna,the son of Vasudeva.Of the Pandavas,I am Dhananjaya,or you,Arjuna.Among munis‘sages’,I am Vyasadeva.Among kavis‘great poets’,I am Ushana.So first of all,In the Vrishni dynasty,I am Shri Krishna,the son of Vasudeva.This is describing what he is.So in that dynasty,he's Sri Krishna.Of the Pandavas,He is Arjuna Why?Because everything is this existence.Everything is Brahman,everything is this one.Whether it's Sri Krishna,whether it's Arjuna.It doesn't matter.It's all one.This is what Sri Krishna is saying.They're all one here.And then among munis,I'm Vyasdeva.Remember,of all the sages,Vyas is the one that is remembered a lot because he's the compiler of the Vedas.He's the compiler of the Puranas,and therefore he has a lot of importance.Yeah,he's the one that's written the Mahabarata,so he's considered to be the highest.He's given a lot of importance.Then of all the kavis,all the great poets,I'm Ushana.Now the term kavi stands for learned people who know the scriptural principles as well.So kavis are the same as rishi's and,Sukracharya who was the foremost of the learned.He was an expert in the science of reviving the dead.He's known for his science of ethics because of his virtues and learnings,he has been declared to be the very self of the Lord.Ushana is Sukracharya.If you think about it,Sri Krishna is everything that we see.Every living being is Sri Krishna.You,me,politicians,kings,queens,the poor,the rich.Everyone is Sri Krishna.Verse38.I am the power and right of rulers to punish.I'm the ethical and strategic advice given to those who are meant to be victorious.I'm the unrevealed secrets kept in silence.I'm the knowing of those who are the most knowledgeable.First,I'm the power and right of rulers to punish.Sri Krishna is that power and he's the right of those rulers to punish others.This is the power and it gives the rights to the rulers to punish.If somebody does wrong,one must get the result of that action and that result is given.The power and the right of the rulers that punish others,Sri Krishna is that.The laws of the world that are created,of the countries that we live in.If we see that that law is Sri Krishna itself,that punishment,the courts,is Sri Krishna himself.Then he says,I am the ethical and strategic advice given to those who are meant to be victorious.In the midst of this war,we can see that ethical and strategic advice is given,and hence victories in sight.Only those,who give ethical and strategic advice will lead those to victory.If one is unethical,we will not be victorious.You may win short term battles and it may appear that you win in the short term,but in the long term you will not win.That's why those who are ethical and strategic win in the long term,even though they may have short term losses,they will win and gain in the long term.So it's better to be ethical,better to be righteous.Those people will win.I'm the unrevealed secrets kept in silence.This is beautiful.I am the unrevealed secrets kept in silence.Beautiful.This Brahm Gyana,the most secret is one that is understood in silence.Therefore,the one who knows everything.You'll notice they always are silent and observant.They speak less,they may give long commentaries or long discourses that we may see from great gurus and swamis on YouTube or in person.But everything they say,even in between the words is silence.Even the words are silent themselves.They work in the background.For example,there's a story of someone who goes to a Guru and says,I want to learn about the highest.Please show me the truth.The Guru is silent.The disciple then says again,the seeker says again,please tell me the truth.Again,there's silence.The master says nothing.The Guru says nothing.The seeker asks again,please tell me the truth.I've repeated myself for the third time,and can you please speak and declare what the truth is?The Guru looks at him and says,I have been telling you the truth.The answer is silence.So this is the thing about this Brahm Gyana to truly understand it first,you may get its knowledge and understanding and intellectualize it and discern it,but eventually,this revelation occurs in silence.If you want to speak of this,truth is to be in silence.You know,they say it's a transmission.That's the way to understand it.And then he says,I am the knowing of those who are the most knowledgeable,no matter how much knowledge we have.We know that this knowledge is not what we are and therefore is just an object.Any worldly knowledge.Yeah.But Sri Krishna says,I am the knowing of those who are the most knowledgeable.Who is the most knowledgeable?Those who know Brahman.So I'm the knowing and the knower of Brahman.That's what he's saying.I'm the knowing of Brahman.I'm the knower of Brahman,and I'm Brahman itself.So the knowing,knower and known are all one and the same.That's what Sri Krishna is saying.Going back to the unrevealed secrets,kept in silence.He says,I am that unrevealed secrets.The unrevealed secrets is this Brahm Gyana.So I am this Brahm Gyana,and I'm kept in silence.Not everyone needs to know about it.Not everybody's ready for it.That's why Sri Krishna only reveals it to a few,and this truth is only sought by a few.I've known many people who have desire to see God,desire to see the truth,desire to know the truth,but only a few have ever gone there.Only a few have ever accepted it.And only a few have ever gone deeper into it,so that's why mostly the Guru will give a main framework of messages,but the truth is hidden within those messages,and that's the silence we need to look for.Then in verse39.He says,O Arjuna,I am the source of the seeds from which all living beings arise Without me,none of these beings either moving or unmoving would have arisen.So let's break this up.O Arjuna,I'm the source of the seeds from which all living beings arise.We've seen this before and he is the eternal seed.Sri Krishna is the eternal seed or the imperishable seed where all existence arise.So all these living beings that we know,this existence that manifests,it all emanates from the one.This is the uniqueness of Vedanta because it says from the one many have appeared and the many will disappear into this one.The source of all this is Brahman itself.That's what Sri Krishna is saying,I am Brahman.I'm the source of these seeds of existence,and due to these seeds,all these living beings arise.I am that Witness Consciousness.So all living beings arise in the seed form.Then he says,without me,none of these beings either moving or unmoving,would've arisen.Without this Brahman,without this Ultimate Reality,it's impossible for anything to exist.Whether it moves or not,empty or not,Formless or not,none of it would've arisen.But because this is the source of everything,this Ultimate Reality,hence everything has arisen.Existence is Brahman itself,and Sri Krishna is saying there's nothing but Brahman.That's what he's saying.So what you see appearing as many,that's arisen here is nothing but this one principle.This one Brahman itself.Then verse40.There is no end to My divine manifestations,O mighty Arjuna..I've shared these examples with you merely as a small example of the vistas of My unlimited opulence manifest by my personal energies.So let's break this verse up.There is no end to My divine manifestations,O mighty Arjuna.So all this existence is the divine manifestation of the one,and he says there's no end to it.That's what we need to understand.There's no end.It's endless.It's infinite.And no matter how much we try,will not find the end to it.There is no end to my divine manifestations.Try and search.You will not find it.This is what Sri Krishna is saying.He says,and he says,O'mighty Arjuna,even with all your might,you will not find the end.Then he says,I have shared these examples with you merely as a small example of the vastness of my unlimited opulence,that's manifested by my personal energies.First of all,he went through73examples and he says that these73is just a small portion of his existence.This unlimited opulence manifest.So all this manifestation,this unlimited opulence,this vastness,that you think is vast,it is just a small existence within this vast existence,this vast awareness that we have,this Formless Awareness,Nirguna Brahman.The Ultimate Reality is so vast that what you see now that you think is vast is merely a small portion.And how has this come to be?This small portion that we've just talked about?My personal energies,this has arisen from my own energy.That's what Sri Krishna is saying.All this is coming from Sri Krishna's personal energy.Personal energy of the Isht Devta or our Guru or Isvara.This is only a small portion,that whole vastness cannot be expressed here.Should Krishna saying you'd be here all day.So the vastness of this True Self is a lot to try to comprehend,a lot to comprehend.So he's saying,I'm showing you a small part.That's enough.If you understand this small part,you'll understand everything.If you understand the one,we understand the many,and if you understand the many,we understand the One.That's simply what Sri Krishna is talking about.Then verse41.Whenever you see anything that is shrimad'a splendid,powerful,prosperous,truthful,glorious reality,full of vigor and powerful urges to greatness',just try to understand that in every case,every being or object is merely endowed with just a tiny spark of my Unlimited Being and energies.Beautiful verse,and again.He's referring to himself as Nirgun here.This is something we must understand.So srimad here means it is splendid,it's full of its own light,powerful.Nothing can destroy it.Prosperous it gives to all,and grants everyone's desires and wishes.Truthful.It is ethical.And it is the True Self.It is honest,glorious.It being Brahman.It is beyond everything.The highest glories,the73glories that we've just read about,its all of those.It's full of vigor because all of existence is contained within it.The truth of reality,being Brahman,being Formless Awareness,there is no reality that's even second to this hence,it's the most glorious.And full of vigor.It is the absolute vitality of existence.This whole existence has its power,its vigor,its vitality from this True Self.The wellbeing of existence arises from this Ultimate Reality and then the powerful urges to greatness.What are they?They're automatically by being in the company to this One,one is automatically in greatness.What is that thing that desires within us?To know the One?To be the one?To understand there is only the One?It happens when we approach or we are in the company of someone like Sri Krishna,like our Satguru.That's what happens.When we understand it's the greatest because this is the only thing present.This is the omnipresent One.There is no competition here.That's what Srimad means.All this that I've just described is srimad.So he says,whenever you see anything that is srimad.So anything of those qualities,just understand that in every case,in all of those things,in every case,in every being or object,all of those things are just a tiny spark of my unlimited Being,just a tiny part.We may think it's vast and great,but it's just a tiny spark of Sri Krishna or this Isvara's Unlimited Being,this Shared being just a tiny spark of the Shared Being and it's energies.Just imagine a tiny spark has so much potential.This tiny spark is the light of what?Where does It's Light originate from?This Brahman this Reality.Then verse42.O Arjuna,what is the need for sharing all this detailed knowledge with you?Since with a single fragment of myself,I support everything that exists.We look at the whole verse together and beautiful verse,and this is a question to think about actually.What's the need for sharing all this to you Arjuna?Why should Sri Krishna explain all of this to us?When just a single fragment of his True Self,this Shared Being,this Paramatma,this Formless Awareness,this Nirguna Brahman,when everything is supported by just a single fragment of it.What Sri Krishna is saying here is just understand this single fragment of myself.What's this single fragment of Myself?This one Existence.This one True Self,this One Reality.Understand this One Reality,you understand that I support everything.So why do I need to share anything else with you?Why share all the vastness of this existence as a manifestation,when it's the Reality behind all that matters the most?When that Reality is right in front of you,why do you still want to see these objects of existence?That's what Sri Krishna is pointing towards,and this ends our chapter on Vibhuti Yoga.The next chapter will also expand into the true glorious form of Sri Krishna,which is this existence.So he goes into a deeper,detailed version of these qualities,but what I want us to understand from the last couple of episodes,that ultimately we are to see the Oneness,the unity between the subject and the object,between the seer and the seen,between me,you and this whole world,this whole universe and all of existence,every living being,everything animate and inanimate,everything moving and unmoving,form or Formless,name or nameless,seen and unseen,manifest and unmanifest.All of this is none other than that One True Self.And that is the end of today's episode.If you liked what you heard and liked what you watched,please do share this podcast with your friends and family who may enjoy this content.Do follow me on social media to keep getting updates.Join the Bearded Mystic Podcast WhatsApp community group to continue the podcast discussion,details are in the show notes and video description below.If you would like to support the Bearded Mystic Podcast as we discussed earlier,do check out the podcast Patreon page.Your support means everything,and it helps this podcast keep running.Details are in the show notes and video description below.Please do rate this podcast five stars and do give a review either on your favorite podcast,streaming app or on our website.Details are in the show notes and video description below.Please do like and comment on this video and subscribe to this YouTube channel.Do follow or subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast streaming app.Thank you very much for listening to this episode.Let's end with the Shanti mantra and the Soham mantra.Soham Soham.I am That.I am That.Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti Aum Peace Peace Peace Namaste.